Chapter Text
Deep choked on the sushi he was chewing as the plate he was holding was abruptly knocked out of his hands. The plate’s contents scattered across the carpeted floor. He looked down at the mess in disappointment, then snapped his eyes up at his friend in anger. “Yo. What the fuck, bro?!” He yelled, voice muffled by a half-eaten roll.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Black Noir shouted back, harshly slamming his mask down on the table beside them. Deep flinched slightly at the action.
He stopped chewing and swallowed hard. “I should be asking you that! Why would you do that to my food?” Deep scrambled to clean up, picking up the salvageable pieces of sushi and swiping pieces of rice back onto the plate.
“Seriously,” Noir scoffed in disbelief when he saw what Deep was doing. “You’ve stooped so low that you’re eating fish now? And fucking betraying me?”
“What are you even on about?” Deep replied dismissively.
His feigning cluelessness made Noir more enraged. How could he have already forgotten? “Stan Edgar was mine. I had him, and you knocked me out and took all the credit for it! I trusted you.”
“Relax! It was just this one time. I’m done,” He started, “I promise, I just needed Homelander to see-“
“Everything is about Homelander with you. It’s pathetic how bad you want his approval.” Noir spat, voice laced with anger.
“That’s not true…” Deep denied, his head lowering and shoulders slumping. Suddenly, he wasn’t so confident anymore.
“Uh, yeah. It is!” Noir replied like it was obvious. “Why do you need his approval so badly?”
Deep didn’t respond; he only stayed quiet, staring at either the floor or his lap.
“Well?” Noir demanded. What a coward, was he giving him the silent treatment now?
“I’m treated like a fucking joke by him.” Deep mumbled quietly. He didn’t make eye contact, his head down.
“What?” Noir questioned, his eyes narrowing, trying to understand better what he had just heard.
“I said I’m treated like a- “ he swallowed hard. “A fucking joke around here.” He admitted, words coming out unevenly. Deep reluctantly looked up at him now, blinking rapidly, not to let tears come out.
Upon seeing that look cross Deep’s face, Noir couldn’t bring himself to feel nearly as angry anymore. He pitied him because he never thought he’d see Deep be vulnerable like this, especially not after seeing him put himself up on a pedestal during their podcasts, pretending like he was untouchable, one of the strongest men alive. Noir knew it was bullshit, though he didn’t expect Deep to admit it. And now, sitting in front of him, holding back tears, he just looked weak. Fragile, even.
“You’re not.” Noir tentatively reached out, setting a hand on Deep’s shoulder. He squeezed lightly.
Deep sighed at the touch. It offered him more consolation than Noir’s empty words of comfort, because he knew that they weren’t true. He wiped away the wetness from his eyes.
“I’m a joke,” he repeated. “I’m sorry, okay?” He added meekly.
“Why are you saying this?” That's all Noir could ask.
“Homelander. He-“ Deep cut himself off quickly, like he was about to admit something he didn’t mean to. A look of panic spread across his face for a split second.
“Yeah?” Noir asked softly. He noticed the look. It was subtle, so subtle that if you blinked during it, you wouldn’t notice. But he did.
Deep sniffled and shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Kevin, you know you can tell me anything,” Noir reassured him with another light squeeze of his shoulder.
“No, no. I can’t. I can’t tell you that.” He shook his head.
“What is it?” Noir’s brows furrowed. He wondered what it was that Deep couldn’t tell him.
“Just- let me make it up to you, please.” Deep’s gaze shifted to the hand settled on his shoulder, and with a trembling hand, he placed his own on Noir’s.
“What do you mean?” Never, in a million years, would he have guessed correctly what Deep was about to do.
He reached his opposite hand up and trailed it up to Noir’s crotch. Moving his hand up and down, he stared at Noir intently. He continued stroking, feeling the outline of his dick as Noir got harder.
“Fuck.” Noir sighed at the sensation of being palmed through his pants. He knew it was wrong. He knew that he needed to find out what Deep was hiding. Despite his brain screaming at him not to go through with this, he let it happen.
Maybe, if he did this, Kevin would confide in him, he told himself.